Flat bottom kettles, a little ID help please

[LVaughn]

I don’t normally go for flat bottomed kettles, but I did pick up a couple over the last few months. They are unmarked except for the size on the bottom, one is an 8 the other is a 9. All of these photos are of the 8 except for the bottom of the 9. Upon close inspection the 8 also says 811, the 9 has no markings other than the 9. Looking online I thought they might be unmarked Wagners, as I did find a couple of Wagner marked kettles that looked essentially identical. But once I found the 811 after cleanup I found it in one of the Books as the model number for a Griswold flat bottomed #8 kettle. So what do ya’ll think? Wagner, Griswold, or something else? They are not for sale, I’ll keep and use them, I’m just curious.

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[Doug D.]

I'd look for buttering at 12 o'clock on the #8. Griswold wasn't known for making unmarked goods by simply filling in the "ERIE", so perhaps it's a lazy copy by someone else from an Erie kettle. Another consideration is that ghost mark evidence tells us Wagner did a bit of copying using Erie pieces as well.

 

[SeanD]

For some reason that number 9 just doesnt look right. I mean the actual number 9 on the bottom. It just looks weird to me.

 

[LVaughn]

Thanks for your comments.
I have looked at both very closely and see no signs of buttering. If these are copies they are very good. The #9 especially is very smooth and slick on the outside. It is unfortunate that there is so little information available on flat bottom kettles, I guess there isn’t much interest in them for some reason.